Shackle listened to the bickering, his optics narrowing slightly, before deciding it was prudent to speak, "The ship just slowed to normal sub-light cruise speeds...which means we're nearing our destination, or approaching a Space Bridge to our next destination," Shackle had spent most of his exsistence after the Great War broke out in space, on ships, he could tell by the shake of the ship, or the vibration of it's engines, the approximate of what was going on out there.

"So if we're going to stage this coupe...we best do it quickly, one way or another. We don't want to be fighting while this shuttle is actually docking or going at superluminal speeds in a Space Bridge."

"Then again, Detective....how often have you dreamed of hearing your father's voice once more? Of feeling your mother's touch?" - Ra's Al Ghul"According to the Bible, IHVH created the Universe in six days....he obviously didn't know what he was doing." - Darek Steele bani Order of Hermes.DS's Golden Rule: I am not a bigot, I hate everyone equally. | corollary: Some are more equal than others.

Breakout didn't know it, but he had been wrong on several counts when he had decided his captors were 'cons that didn't care about doing hard work if they could skip it out and would be on the bridge. The mercenaries were neither Decepticons nor slackers but, ironically were all on the bridge.

"Hey 'Crusher," said Countdown, "I just got a weird signal."

"What?" asked Slice 'N Dice. "Another? That only makes a thousand. This beautiful lady is only built from the pieces of a dozen other ships. Of course she glitches."

The bounty hunters each attended a bank of instruments. The jury-rigged vessel was cranky. The AI helped some, but there were limits to what even Skullcrusher could do with limited resources.

"What is it?" asked Skullcrusher. He was integrated into the command throne, piloting the ship and monitoring it's engines.

"The comp says the door to the secondary arsenal," said Countdown, "and it kind of noticed that we're all up here."

"So?" asked Slice 'N Dice who was as lazy as Breakout believed. "Something is always breaking down or glitching."

"Maybe," said Skullcrusher, "but it's been happening a little too often as of late. And we have guests of the highest quality."

"You called that empty a guest of quality too and he wasn't much."

"He was at one time and these ones are in better shape. Coundown, check it out."

"Alright boss."

"Slice 'N Dice, back him up. Shimmer's tricky, Overhaul is a power house, Breakout has a kill list half as long as Megatron's, Shackle is a survivor, and the one's that I don't know aren't going to be harmless. Don't screw around. If they're up, put them down like a Prime through casseticons. We still can make money off the parts."

_________________"Justice belongs to the strong. If there are gods, they do not help. But what is done under the Naked Stars is remembered."

Shimmer rolled her optics at Medicon, they'd had this discussion off and on over the centuries. She slipped out and moved forward, towards the bridge, taking the lead again without prompting from Breakout. She was the scout, after all. Time to earn her Energon, even if she couldn't use her holograms or digital camo paint. Using the memorized map, she headed down the hallway in the direction of the bridge.

Shimmer took point, as was her role in things it seemed. She was a scout, it's what she did. Shackle had come to appreciate certain things about Shimmer over their history...even though it had been vorns since he last saw her.

Shackle fell into step behind Shimmer, but just far enough back that he wouldn't interfere with her own ways - a ion rifle in one hand, his powered down energo-sword in the other. The second rifle was holstered for now...ready to be used, just in case.

"Then again, Detective....how often have you dreamed of hearing your father's voice once more? Of feeling your mother's touch?" - Ra's Al Ghul"According to the Bible, IHVH created the Universe in six days....he obviously didn't know what he was doing." - Darek Steele bani Order of Hermes.DS's Golden Rule: I am not a bigot, I hate everyone equally. | corollary: Some are more equal than others.

"I know the way, Hornet. Follow me." Medicon glanced back at the incredibly small bot. He had rarely seen a bot that small that wasn't meant to be an assistant to another larger bot. Was he the second to Wheeljack? Or Flamebringer? He would have to ask later.

Medicon slowed only slightly to make certain the smaller bot could keep up.

Flamebringer moved to take point for the Engineering group, his rifle attached to his own body and sweeping around on corners, waving the two near-noncombatants forward when a section was secured, and he and hopefully Overhaul moving up, a form of leapfrog.

Shimmer headed toward the connecting corridor that would lead to the bridge access way. The heavy tread of her fellow Cybertronians filled her audio receptors with low level background noise, but she had sensitive equipment and very good software running on that hardware. Thus she was able to filter out the noise of heavy footfalls behind her and realize that there were several more footfalls than there should be. Signal analysis indicated they were just around the corner she was heading toward.

She wasn't the only bot with a good sensor package. Countdown's sensors processed similar data and came to a similar conclusion in a roughly the same number of nanocycles. He tight burst a transimssion to Slice 'N Dice. "Escapees!"

The bigger 'bot stepped forward, bringing up his double barreled blaster rifle. Slice 'N Dice had very respectable speed for a 'bot his size. He lunged around the corner, intent on mayhem.

_________________"Justice belongs to the strong. If there are gods, they do not help. But what is done under the Naked Stars is remembered."

Shimmer raised a hand to stop the Autobots behind her. "Two boogies around the..." that was as far as Shimmer got in her tight-beam warning before the 'Con burst around the corner. Instinct and long experience had her energon whip slicing out for the bot's ankles, hoping to entangle and trip him, forgetting how little energon she had to feed the whip.

Either way, it would be a long wire wrapped around the ankles, energon or not.

The entire trip down the corridor, Shackle had been anxious, anticipating action of any sort. Shimmer's tightbeam transmission already had him dropping to a knee, when Countdown appeared around the corner, loaded for bear.

Shackle's faceplate twisted in a smirking grin, as his rifle was brought into firing position, and the Bounty Hunter released three quick blasts at the Mercenary, "Long time no see Slice...," Shackle said just as the last energy bolt fired off from his gun.

"Then again, Detective....how often have you dreamed of hearing your father's voice once more? Of feeling your mother's touch?" - Ra's Al Ghul"According to the Bible, IHVH created the Universe in six days....he obviously didn't know what he was doing." - Darek Steele bani Order of Hermes.DS's Golden Rule: I am not a bigot, I hate everyone equally. | corollary: Some are more equal than others.

As the sound of blaster fire filled the air, Medicon looked back and stopped for several seconds. The bot stared backwards, obviously considering going back to help, before he turned back around. "We should hurry. They might need help."

Shimmer's line curled around Slice 'N Dice's legs, tripping the big 'bot and causing him to fall backward. This caused two out of the three shots Shackle took to miss high as the bounty hunter fell. The third hit his upper chest plaston at an angle. It was doubtful that the bounty hunter would be grateful to Shimmer for her "help."

Slice's own shot went high, blasting a hole in the ceiling and spraying the Autobots with droplets of molten slag. Countdown leaned around the corner and hooked his comrade with one arm to drag him back. His other hand bounced an EMP grenade down the corridor to stun and paralyze his opponents.

_________________"Justice belongs to the strong. If there are gods, they do not help. But what is done under the Naked Stars is remembered."

The detonation of the EMP grenade slammed Shimmer's systems into shutdown. The 'bots sensor systems collapsed so fast that she didn't even fell falling to the floor. A moment later her systems began to reboot.

Shackle's sensor systems did a hard crash and his motive systems froze up, but his core processors remained online. He was aware and would recover basic functionality shortly. If he had the time.

Breakout was partially covered and further back from the blast. It only hashed his sensor inputs for half a second and hard crashed his targeting systems, but he could still function. And fight.

_________________"Justice belongs to the strong. If there are gods, they do not help. But what is done under the Naked Stars is remembered."

two of the shots went wide, and the third barely scrapped paint off of Slice 'N Dice, and Shackle was not a happy Cybertronian. He was less happy when his optics saw the EMP grenade, a split second before it went off.

He was tossed into darkness, and couldn't move as the energy wave hit him, his frame freezing into place, dropped to one knee, gun held out in firing position finger just off the trigger.

He turned on his self diagnostic software as soon as he realiezed what happened, and was unhappy with the read out. He would get back drive functions on his own, but it would take a few seconds while his shielded self repair systems sorted out the mess the EMP Made of him.

"Then again, Detective....how often have you dreamed of hearing your father's voice once more? Of feeling your mother's touch?" - Ra's Al Ghul"According to the Bible, IHVH created the Universe in six days....he obviously didn't know what he was doing." - Darek Steele bani Order of Hermes.DS's Golden Rule: I am not a bigot, I hate everyone equally. | corollary: Some are more equal than others.

Breakout gunned his engine and sped down the corridor, passed his downed comrades, toward the mercenaries. Breakout raced around the corner to find himself at point blank range with Slice 'N Dice. The bounty hunter had gotten up and slung his rifle, transforming his forearms into long chain powered cutting blades. They roared to life as the mercenary struck at the Autobot warrior.

Meanwhile Flamebringer lead the second into the rear of the ship. Two massive thrusts units and several smaller engines. Reinforced pipes fed fuel to the monster engines and thick cables served as power feeds. There were clear signs of the cut and chop nature of the ship modification with several different alloys being used in the hull and casings as well as scar like weld marks where the different pieces were forced together.

_________________"Justice belongs to the strong. If there are gods, they do not help. But what is done under the Naked Stars is remembered."

Breakout gunned his engine and sped down the corridor, passed his downed comrades, toward the mercenaries. Breakout raced around the corner to find himself at point blank range with Slice 'N Dice. The bounty hunter had gotten up and slung his rifle, transforming his forearms into long chain powered cutting blades. They roared to life as the mercenary struck at the Autobot warrior.

I don't stop or slow down. Hesitation leads to greater pain. I run the Con down. Slamming into him in my vehicle mode as fast has I can go. I have to keep these distracted long enough for the others to recover, I have to get rid of them before reinforcements get here. I don't dare hope that they haven't radioed in the contact. Have to go faster.

I run the Con over and turn tightly, gunning my engine as I charge the next one.

_________________"it takes two sides to end a war but only one to start one. And those who do not have swords may still die upon them." Tolken

Shimmer's eyes flicker as the rebooting continues, error messages scrolling by rapidly as once again the full list of what components had been torn out by her captors. A tiny part inside Shimmer's core silently counted down the hyperseconds it would take to become functional again

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